Hysteria
by Infernal Blossom
Summary: Sanity is so over-rated.
1. Melody of Insanity

**Author's Note: **_**Bleach**__ and all its characters are the property of Tite Kubo. The only one who belongs to me is Emiko Fukutawa._

_Hello, my dear fans! Infernal Blossom here~ So guess what? I was suddenly hit with an idea for another Bleach story and- ...Oh, you guys already knew that. Ah well. Anyways, this here's my third Bleach story. Les Miserables has absolutely NOTHING to do with the original work, the movie or the play. This one's of my own creation._

_Here, we're going to take a look into the mind of a teenage girl coming to grips with the realities of life. It's gonna be quite the sad story, so bring you tissue boxes and play the Fullmetal Alchemist OST, 'Dante' while you read this. It'll make it feel so real. And don't worry, I don't REALLY feel this way. Emiko came to life completely on her own. Isn't it funny how the human mind works?_

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_To all my family and friends..._

_By the time you have found this note, I will have been long gone. Do not bother trying to call me; I will not answer. Do not worry about me, either, I'm fine. Don't bother looking for me. If you do, all you will find is misery and hopelessness. If you choose to do so, however, don't get your hopes up. You will not find me alive, and you will not be able to find my body. If you somehow manage to find my body, though, please don't mourn my death or think it was your fault. Nobody had anything to do with my death. It was purely my choice. Please, do not let me being gone change any aspects of your lives._

_Sincerely,_

_Emiko_

The pen stopped moving, sliding out of its writer's grasp and onto the desk right below. The paper underneath it was lifted up and rolled up. A black ribbon was wrapped around the paper to secure the note inside. A delicate hand took the scrolled paper and placed it on top of a small blue pillow, which had been on top of a neatly made up bed. The same hand picked up a white teddy bear, which wore a similar black ribbon around its neck, and placed it in front of the paper.

Partially covering the hand was the cuff of a gray knit sweater. The sweater was buttoned shut, save the one at the very top. Underneath the thick material was a soft cerulean crew neck T-shirt. Around the neck above the clothing was a black-and-gray leather choker, with a deep blue gemstone hanging from it. The gemstone and shirt matched their owner's dark blue eyes. Unkempt dark blond hair hung in its owner's face, tied back into a messy ponytail with a dark gray ribbon, reaching down to the middle of her back.

Emiko went to kneel down and reach under her bed, but she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She quickly grabbed the note and shoved it into the bottom drawer of her dresser, deep behind all her cool-colored clothing, then reaching under the bed for what she'd wanted to get out before. A large black box, with a handle and a silver clasp on one side. She opened the case and pulled out a violin, the bow coming out with it. The door to her room swung open as Emiko placed the instrument on her shoulder, leaned her head against the smooth polished surface and began to play. She didn't bother to take out her sheet music; she'd memorized every note on every line of every page at first glance. The footsteps from before entered her small bedroom, stopping at the foot of her bed. Emiko ignored them and closed her eyes, immersing herself into the melody that danced off the strings of her violin.

"Emiko," a female voice said to her, "come on. It's time to take your medicine." The blue eyed girl heard her mother, but ignored the words that passed through her ears. She continued to play and the music grew more intense. She could see the vision of her music start to form right in front of her, the notes turning into people she knew and the melody becoming the stories of how she was connected to them.

To her left stood Ana Tsukino, her best friend. They had met in the fourth grade. The school system had separated them once junior high school came around, but it proved to be only temporary when they reunited in high school. She remembered hearing her voice over the phone during their last summer break in separate schools, when she'd heard they would be in the same homeroom come freshman year. She remembered seeing Ana only a few yards away from their new school, waving wildly to her best friend as she ran across the street. Right then and there, time was suddenly reduced to mere milliseconds worth of camera shots. Emiko remembered what she saw in each and every frame – a white car speeding down the road, the distance between its grill and Ana quickly becoming smaller, until it finally ran into her. Ana's body was sent flying, at least thirty or forty feet. Each time it hit the ground, Emiko could hear the sounds of bones cracking and skin tearing, tissue being ripped apart and blood spewing. She'd been terribly mangled by a car that didn't even stop to see what it had hit. A crowd began to gather around the scene, people calling for ambulances and the fire department. The EMTs arrived shortly after, only to pronounce Ana Tsukino dead at the scene. Her breath ceased to exist. Emiko tried to move, tried to run to Ana's side and do anything she could to revive her lost friend, but her legs stayed locked in place. It was then that she felt a warm spot on her face. She reached a hand up to wipe it away and felt the thick liquid on her fingertips. Pulling away, Emiko saw spots of red rolling down her hands. They were all over her school uniform, staining even her tie and socks. The last thing she remembers from that day was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Emiko!" The voice from before disrupted her trance, and her mind returned to reality. She lifted her head from the violin and looked up at her mother, who had a stern look on her face. "Did you hear what I said? It's time to take your medicine. You've already missed two doses. You can't skip out this time." She handed her daughter two large green pills and a glass of water. Emiko laid down her instrument and took the pills from her mother, popping them into her mouth. She grabbed the glass and drank it all at once.

She hated having to take these pills every day, every four hours, on the hour. They weren't necessary. Her parents and doctors, however, thought otherwise. Yes, she understood that some of her childhood imaginary friends were bad, but she didn't see any wrong in that. They were imaginary, not capable of causing any real harm to anyone or anything. But her doctors thought otherwise. Emiko remembered listening against the door to the psychiatrist's office when she was eight, hearing him call her "unstable". Unstable? She was far from it. It was the world around her that was unstable, and everyone else in it, with the exclusion of her best friend. The psychiatrist had suggested that she stay in a mental facility for a few weeks so she could be "properly taken care of". Even at the innocent age of eight, Emiko was smart enough to understand what the adults were discussing. But her parents protested the idea of sending their only daughter into a hospital of white and insanity. So they found a compromise – the psychiatrist prescribed her some anti-psychotic pills, which he said would "banish the demons torturing her innocent soul". Innocent soul, huh?

As much as she hated all of this, she obliged and carried on with it anyway. "Dinner's ready, by the way," her mother added. "I made your favorite. Split pea soup and toast." Emiko didn't reply, which her mother didn't expect her to do. These days, the only way her seventeen year old daughter communicated with anyone was either by playing her violin or sitting at her easel and painting. The woman turned her attention to the easel that sat in the corner of the room. A painting of a garden was her latest work. There was an apple tree standing off in the background, bearing yellow and green apples. No red. The flowers all around were different shades of soft purples and blues. No red. A rose bush had been placed way to the right, white and orange blooms wrapped in large thorns and deep green leaves. No red. Emiko hadn't touched or spoke of the color red since the death of her best friend, and she could understand why from what she heard. Her daughter, standing frozen in the street, screaming and covered in Ana's blood. She'd hoped that moving from Osaka to Nagasaki would've eased her daughter's mind even a little, but alas, it did nothing.

"Did you do what the psychiatrist said to do today?" she asked her daughter. Another thing the man in the black suit had told her parents to make her do. Every day after school, she had to write one page about her day and anything she saw that could be considered out of the ordinary. All in full sentences, with proper grammar. If she missed a single sentence, she had to start over again until she got it right. And it actually helped a lot. Her writing had improved dramatically over the years. Emiko pointed to her desk, and her mother walked over to the white stained wood table. A notepad lay on the surface, all neat and set exactly perpendicular to the table's edges. The woman's blue eyes scanned across the page, reading the words her daughter had written down.

_Nothing new occurred today. Everything remained virtually the same as yesterday. I walked to class and gave the teacher my assignment from last night. She looked it over once and said I got an A+, as always. I took my seat when the bell rang. It's in the front of the classroom, right next to the teacher's desk. I'm the only one in my class who has to sit in the same seat in every room, so that someone can keep an eye on me if I suddenly do something strange. I looked out the window and saw_

The rest of the page was not visible. It'd been hidden under scribbles of black ink. Her mother sighed heavily and faced her, hands on hips. "Emiko, why is the rest of the page scribbled out?" She didn't answer, only giving her mother a blank stare. "You know Dr. Ayumu won't like this when he sees it." She didn't care. She preferred that nobody else know what she saw. Emiko's mother grabbed the notepad and pen and placed them on her daughter's lap. "I want you to rewrite the rest of it." Emiko turned away and reached for her violin, but her mother grabbed the bow and instrument before she could. "Write. Now." Emiko sighed heavily and grabbed the pen. She knew how stubborn her mother was, how she wasn't the type to let things such as schoolwork and her therapy go so easily. She was the reason Emiko was a straight A student. The blond teen leaned down and began to write. Her mother sat next to her, watching over her shoulder as the pen started forming words on the yellow paper.

_I looked out the window and saw a flash of black and white. At first I assumed I was seeing things again, but it reappeared. And this time, it was looking straight at me. It looked something like a mask, but with_- the following word was scribbled out, and her mother knew she'd written 'red' there- _eyes and a wicked smile. Then it suddenly vanished when a figure with white hair destroyed it using a katana. The figure turned toward me, and I saw his face. He had a juvenile look to him, but his turquoise eyes showed an undying loyalty and maturity hidden deep within. I'm not sure whether he was really looking at me or not, but that didn't matter. I turned back to the teacher and resumed my studies._


	2. Paint

**Author's Note: **_**Bleach**__ and all its characters are the property of Tite Kubo. The only one I own is Emiko Fukutawa._

_I apologize for not updating ANY of my stories recently. I've been busy preparing for my trip to Peru. And now that I'm actually IN Peru, we have no internet access xD So new chapters shall be posted once my ass is back on US soil. Which is a six hour flight. Great._

_On the bright side, I found some more theme songs for Emiko. _**Savior**_ by _**30 Seconds to Mars** and **Drag You Down** _by _**Finger Eleven**_. They fit her perfectly._

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_To the boy with white hair,_

_Who are you? Where did you come from? When our eyes met, were you really looking at me? You slayed the strange monster with-_ there was no next word, just a scribble of a line- _eyes, and then vanished. How do I thank you? Are you even-_

A breeze blew into the waiting room through an open window, swiping Emiko's paper out of her hands and to the outside world. She groaned for a moment. Another wasted thought on another wasted paper. She put her papers and pen into her book bag and zipped it closed. Why did her mother drag her out of school to see the psychiatrist? All she did was write what she saw, as instructed. And now it had her waiting with the secretary while her mother spoke with the doctor about what Emiko had seen at school. This was far from what she wanted to do. She wasn't even allowed to bring her violin. How could her mother not let her?

The door to the office opened, and a man's head poked out. "Hello, Emiko," the man said to her with a soft smile. He was gray and balding, probably in his early sixties, wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses. Dr. Ayumu opened the door some more and invited his patient in. She hesitated at first, staying in her seat and holding her bag to her chest. The smile on her doctor's face faded and he sighed. "Please, dear. Don't make this hard on yourself." Emiko's mother came to the door and gave her daughter a commanding glare, which she unfortunately couldn't ignore. The blond girl stood up and slowly walked into the office, taking a seat next to her mother. The adults sat down, the psychiatrist crossing his legs and arms. "Emiko," the man began, "your mother showed me what you wrote yesterday." He pulled two papers off his clipboard and held it up for her to see. It was her therapy assignment. "Why did you cross out what you'd written?" Two pairs of adult eyes flashed to her, boring through the pale skinned girl like nails. Emiko folded her hands and looked at the ground, distressed and twiddling her thumbs. She sat in silence, as always. Dr. Ayumu sighed again and turned to her mother. "Has she spoken at all recently? Any words, even broken sentences?"

"No," the blue eyed woman replied. "I still can't get a word out of her."

"What about her teachers? Have they mentioned anything?"

Emiko's mother shook her head. "Nothing at all. According to them, she just sits there and takes notes. They all say she's an exceptional student, otherwise, but she won't speak to anyone." She reached to the nearby table and grabbed a tissue from the box, wiping her eyes with it. "It pains me to not hear her voice. It makes me feel like a bad mother, like I've messed up somehow. I've tried everything I could think of, and it results in nothing changing." Her mother bawled like a child, grabbing more tissues.

Dr. Ayumu nodded and turned to his patient, his chin resting atop his folded hands. "You see, Emiko? Your mother's in pain." There he went again, pouring a guilt trip on her head. "There's a way to make her feel better, you know. I want you to give her a hug and tell her you love her." The psychiatrist sat back in his chair and waited for her to make a move. Emiko didn't move an inch. Her eyes stayed glued to the carpeted floor. She could hear the balding man write something down on his clipboard, tapping his heel against the chair leg and making constant 'Mhm's every few seconds. "Mrs. Fukutawa, it's obvious that Emiko's schizophrenia is far from improving. I am going to recommend giving her a stronger medication with more frequent doses. I also recommend that she get a para to help her learn to communicate in school. She obviously isn't making any effort to talk to anyone on her own. And I want her to start writing three pages of what happens every day instead of one." Emiko glanced up for a second. A para? More medication, more often? More writing?

Why did this have to happen to her? All she wanted was to be left alone.

"Other than that," he continued, "have you thought about what her future's going to consist of?" Emiko's eyes went back to the floor. College was the last thing on her mind, and forget about her future after that.

Emiko's mother gathered herself together. "My husband and I have looked at several colleges for Emiko. There's one in Tokyo that has special programs for students with mental disorders. We think it's perfect for her." She placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I think she'd also be good in the music program there as well."

The blond teenager wanted nothing more than to leave that place. To leave that place, to leave everything, and never come back.

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She continued to hear the voices in her head, even on the way home. Emiko wished they were real voices. Only then would everyone stop saying she was crazy. But they remained in the form of voices that only she could hear, growing bodies over the years that only she could see. They multiplied and grew more erratic with every appearance, even with the lithium induced pills.

The first to appear was the one named Prime, ironically. Prime was like Emiko with inverted colors and emotions, and came into her world when she was seven. The first words that Prime said to the blond teenager still rang in her head. Prime held out her hand to Emiko and told the young girl, "I'll play with you if you hurt your parents for me." Emiko told her parents about the figure right away, but they saw nothing. That and the following incident on her eighth birthday were what triggered her parents to take their daughter to a psychiatrist. Prime had visited again, and this time asked her something different. "Can you do me a favor, Emiko? Take the lighter near the candles and put its flame on the side of your house. If you do that, I'll be your best friend."

A frequent visitor was Black. He was a shadowy figure who bore white eyes at the blond teen wherever she went. He never spoke a word, but he communicated telepathically with Emiko. Black was the one who followed her everywhere she went, including today's visit to Dr. Ayumu. The blue eyed teen first encountered him when she was eleven. To her surprise, he wasn't one of the figments who tried to coerce her into bringing harm onto others or anything. Black was actually more of a guardian to Emiko, her own personal security blanket who kept her from falling into the devious traps created by Prime and some of her other wild figments. She thought Black was perfectly safe, but her family and doctors, of course, thought otherwise. They became paranoid and assumed he would someday be her downfall.

Out of all the ones who appeared to only Emiko, there was one she feared most. This one had no name or gender. It only consisted of a flash of red wind. This figment appeared the day after Ana's funeral. Emiko feared it not only because of its color, but because it was always haunting her in her dreams and wherever she went. Black could only stop it for so long before the red wind found a hole in his defenses, seeped into her mind and begin to wreak havoc on the defenseless girl, which often resulted in her screaming and crying at random times in the day and night. Trying to fight it off would only anger it more. And every time she saw it, it would only say one thing to her. "Give me your heart and your soul."

Emiko and her mother arrived home early in the afternoon. As soon as she was inside, Emiko ran upstairs to her room and locked the door behind her. She didn't want to have to deal with her mother's constant pestering anymore. The teenager went over to her easel and picked up her paintbrush, dipping the bristles into some leftover black paint. The brush moved across the blank canvas quickly, more colors starting to appear on it soon after the black. Within a short while, a replica of the white haired boy fighting the strange monster was depicted on the canvas. It would amaze anyone how a girl with such a severe case of schizophrenia could have as good a photographic memory as hers. The white haired boy, fighting off the strange monster with eyes that reminded her of her nameless haunter. Then he'd turned to her for a few moments before going off to who knows where. The only parts she left blank were the eyes of the strange monster, because they were the color she wouldn't dare to touch.

"Honey," her mother called to her through the door. "Emiko, I'm going to the grocery store now. I'll be back in an hour or two." Emiko sighed, relieved to know that she wouldn't be disturbed anytime soon. "Don't forget to take your pills and do what Dr. Ayumu said. If I find out you didn't-"

The teenage girl lost her train of thought when Black appeared before her. It was a little strange for him to be out all of a sudden, especially given the fact that there was no danger around. She reached over to her desk to grab a thinner paintbrush, and that's when Prime showed up.

Prime giggled a bit and stood next to her inverted twin. "What's up, Em? Haven't seen ya in a good while." Emiko ignored her and went to finish her painting, but Prime slid herself in between her and the canvas. "Ya kno, it's not very nice to ignore someone when they're talking to you," she commented sarcastically, putting her hands on her hips. "Anyways, I got another proposition for ya. I've been REALLY bored lately, and I was wondering if you could do me a LEETLE insy-winsy favor." She placed a hand on Emiko's collarbone and sent a shiver through the blond haired girl.

"_Don't listen to her_," Black told her telepathically. "_She'll just cause you more trouble than you've been in because of her already_."

"Hey!" Prime yelled at Black and threw a punch at him, only to feel her hand go through his body. "I didn't ASK for your opinion, Smoke Man. I'm just tryin' ta help the girl have some fun, is all. Lighten up. You've been a shadow for too long."

Black shot a deep glare at the inverted girl. "_You've done nothing but cause Emiko mental discomfort, Prime. Leave now before I _make_ you_."

Prime laughed out loud and flipped off Black. "Ooh, I'm SOOOO scared! What are you gonna do about it, huh?" She went to grab Emiko's wrist, but stopped when the ground suddenly began to shake violently, and the blond girl's figments vanished. Emiko then saw flashes of orange, white and black flying across the sky through her window. She took a step toward the glass rectangle, and then she froze. Her sight turned into screenshots once again as a giant dark green hand came through her window and reached for her. She wanted to back against the wall, to run away, to do _anything_ except remain standing there like a statue, but her legs wouldn't obey her.

The hand came closer and closer to her face. And then, it started to pull back. Emiko saw why through her other window, the same reason for the colored flashes passing by. There were two people fighting off the owner of the giant green hand. One was a familiar face, the mature white haired boy. The other was a young man with bright orange hair, and he wore the same black clothing as the white haired boy. They took down the monster with ease using their katanas. Her dark blue orbs watched as the two strange fighters turned toward her and slowly flew in her direction. Were they coming for her next? Or did they want to see if she was unharmed? The katana wielders flew through the window, lightly landing on the wooden floorboards and stepping into the small room.

"It doesn't look like the house was damaged much," Ichigo said to his comrade after examining the room. "It's only this wall here."

Toshiro took a second look around to make sure the young shinigami had thoroughly examined the entire room. "Alright, let's head back and give in the repo-" The blue eyed Soul Reaper froze in place when his orbs caught sight of the canvas in the corner. He saw the painting Emiko had nearly finished of him fighting off a Hollow the day before. Ichigo noticed the painting as well and became just as shocked. "This is..." Toshiro started to say something, but seeing the colored canvas had him at a loss for words. He turned to Emiko, his shock being replaced with a serious glare. "You can see me, can't you? You can hear me, too."

Emiko didn't know what to do. She didn't know whether the boy was real or another figment of her uncontrollable imagination. The girl froze up again, her eyes wandering around frantically.

"Give me your heart and your soul."

Se felt her blood turn into ice. Emiko suddenly saw a flash of red wind. But this occurance was different from the others. This time, the red wind had a small doll floating in its center. It had blue buttons for eyes, yellow fabric for blond hair, a black felt choker and clothing just like her. It almost looked like a voodoo doll. Emiko felt her breathing speed up frantically. Where was Black when she desperately needed him? The red wind then pulled a long red needle out of nowhere and waved it at Emiko before slowly sliding the thin metal through the center of the doll's head.

Emiko immediately fell to the ground and started screaming. She could feel the needle pushing through her skin, bone and flesh. The pain from it was so bad that her arms shook violently as she held her head. Toshiro and Ichigo drew their zanpakutos and looked around frantically for something that could be attacking, but they could find nothing. "What are we supposed to do?" Ichigo asked, starting to get worried for her safety.

"I wish I knew the answer," Toshiro replied. Suddenly, they heard footsteps. The two shinigami immediately flash stepped from her room to the outside, and watched the girl through the glass. Emiko's mother had returned home early and heard her daughter screaming, and ran up to the room right away. She grabbed Emiko and started to rock her in her arms until she stopped crying. The Soul Reapers had never seen anything like this before. What was causing her such pain if there were no enemies around? And what was the story behind the painting? Toshiro sighed heavily and sheathed his weapon. "We'll have to keep a close eye on that girl from now on."


	3. Her Shield

**Author's Note: **_**Bleach and all its characters belong to Tite Kubo. I only own Emiko Fukutawa.**_

_**So how's everyone doing? I just graduated from high school on June 24**__**th**__**. I'll be heading to Parsons once September rolls around. And after I graduate from there, I'm REALLY hoping to score an internship with either Namco-Bandai or Capcom, more so the first. And if I happen to make it and get a job, you'll be sure to catch me drawing 2D character art, and MAYBE CG-rendered versions, if Parsons teaches how to do that. So wish me luck!**_

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_To the katana wielders,_

_Why did you save me? Why didn't you just let that creature devour or kill me? And what did you mean when you asked if I could see you? You were both as clear as the paint on my canvas. Why did you seem so astonished of my painting? And where did you vanish to?_

_...Are you even real?_

Emiko sighed heavily and set her pen down. What was she doing? There was a very slim chance of her letter actually being answered, so why bother? It's not like the white haired boy would ever be back. This was all just a crazy fantasy that not even she, who had seen many crazy things in her almost eighteen years of life, fully believed herself. But what else could she do? Her mother decided to keep her out of school yet again, so she'd been stuck in the house all day, and she'd finished the painting of the white haired boy and the mythical beast. She didn't really have a physical place to escape to. True, she had her laptop, but she craved more of an escape than looking up more sheet music to play or viewing new canvas paintings. And it wasn't like she could just leave the house. One, she had an escort wherever she went so there'd be someone to keep an eye on her; two, she had no sense of direction; and three, her mother made sure that Emiko would never be able to leave the house without her consent. There was a large metal gate around their home that could only be opened with a key, which her mother was careful to hide from her. She was a prisoner, in her mind and her home.

Since she had nothing better to do, Emiko decided to practice part of a new music piece she'd received in school a few days before. Her music class had started to play pieces from Chopin's 'Revolutionary Etude' collection. Emiko had chosen Op. 10, No. 12, a piece that required exceptional speed of the left hand on piano, but had been unheard of on a violin. However, she went ahead and memorized the entire piece, from the climactic opening to the ominous ending. Every note was embedded into her mind. She pulled out her violin case from underneath her bed and took out the instrument and bow. Once she tuned and set it properly, she began to play.

Playing Chopin's Revolutionary Etude was quite difficult for her, surprisingly. She had to move the bow and her fingers more in a mere fifteen seconds than she ever had to for any other pieces she'd played before. And it wasn't only the hand movements that made this piece onerous. The speed also made it hard for her. Eventually, she managed to make it past the difficulties of the piece and finished it. Hearing how beautifully Chopin was depicted on the violin would've brought any audience to their feet in a standing ovation, but she was far from satisfied. She went to play the piece again, when Black suddenly appeared before her. What was wrong this time? "_Don't go toward the window, Emiko,_" he beckoned. "_I sense a presence I never have before, and I don't like it._" But against Black's wishes, she set down her bow and violin and made her way over to her room's one source of natural light. Emiko didn't believe what she saw at first, so she opened the window and poked her head out to get a better look and possibly see what Black was so paranoid about. He was correct to feel suspicious about the presence. She could see a figure standing effortlessly on top of a power line. It was the white haired boy again, the one whom she'd painted the day before. She almost hadn't seen him; if it weren't for the moonlight making his snowy hair glisten, she probably would have missed him entirely. But why was he here? There were no other beasts similar to the ones he'd fought off lingering anywhere nearby. Perhaps he sensed one close by, just as Black had sensed him. "_Come back inside and close the window,_" Black said to her, growing more defensive. "_Don't attract his attention. His aura is that of a wicked kind, and I find it unsettling._" Again, she ignored her protector. Emiko only came back in to get the paper with her note and immediately returned to the window. Her glance constantly shifted between the white haired boy and her words on the note. '_...Are you even real?_'

Then out of nowhere, wind began to blow, ripping the note from her hand. She tried to reach out and grab it before it flew away, but to no avail. The paper floated in the air for a few minutes before ascending up toward the electrical poles. Just as it was passing over, the white haired boy grabbed it. Toshiro came back to the world of the living after fighting off the Hollow near Emiko's home, followed by a brief unofficial meeting with the girl. As he read over her note, thoughts danced in his mind. When he had reported back to the Soul Society after destroying the Hollow and seeing the human's bizarre sudden actions, the other captains didn't know what to think of it. It'd be easier to make sense of if there had been another Hollow around, but nothing was visible. However, they grew distressed after hearing about the painting of the Tenth Company Captain during battle with the large creature. It was then decided that the girl would be observed for the next few days, and if anything stranger occurred, they would have to get involved with her. Her note was proof enough. Toshiro looked away from the paper and toward Emiko's home, where he saw her peeking through the window. As with the last day she was in school, their eyes met. He could see the same thing as the first time: fear. He slowly made his way over to her, being careful not to scare her. She began to back away from the window as he came closer to the house, easily maneuvering through the small space.

Toshiro put his hands up to calm Emiko. "Please, try to relax," he said to her, lowering his voice to a whisper so he wouldn't spook her. "I'm not going to harm you. I'm just going to ask you a few questions, alright? That's all." Emiko tried to calm herself a bit, sitting down on her bed and starting to nervously fidget with her violin bow. She kept her eyes on the ground, trying to keep him from seeing how afraid she was. But he noticed it right away and backed off a little. "You're human, are you not? Do you know who I am?"

As she looked up at him, Black appeared between the two."_Ignore him, Emiko. This boy gives me an uncomfortable vibe._" But she ignored Black and nodded.

"Alright. Now, tell me..." Toshiro paused for a moment as her freak out played in his head again. "What happened to you yesterday? You suddenly dropped to the ground, as if you were being attacked." Emiko's eyes widened slightly. She hoped he hadn't seen or remembered that. But everyone always remembered her freak-outs, when the red wind with no name began to torment her. Emiko turned away from him and shook her head, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. People always got their own ideas whenever they witnessed one of her freak-outs. "Is there any way I can help you?" Toshiro took a cautious step forward. "If there is-"

"_Don't listen to anything else this boy has to say,_" Black interrupted. Emiko gave Black a questioning glance, and he scowled at Toshiro. She heard a small growl start to emerge from him. Why was he so paranoid by the boy? He didn't seem like any type of threat to her. Just then, Black's attention went from Toshiro to her door, and his growling grew louder. "_Look away, Emiko!_"

"**GIVE ME YOUR HEART AND YOUR SOUL.****"**

She felt a small breeze fly through her hair the moment she heard the voice. It sent a chill all throughout her body, causing her fingers to shake a little. Toshiro noticed it immediately. "What's wrong?" he asked her, stepping forward. But Emiko couldn't hear him. She slowly turned toward the door, against Black's wishes, and saw a red cloud begin to materialize. It was a deeper, more blood red than yesterday. Black tried to cover Emiko's eyes, but it was too late for that. She'd already caught sight of the red winded figment. Toshiro saw the look in her eyes and knew. "Not again..." He drew his katana and started scanning the room for any enemies. No Hollows anywhere in sight. "Where are you...?" he hissed. No matter how hard he looked, the captain couldn't find any trace of there being a Hollow anywhere in the vicinity. If there were no Hollows around, then where was the danger coming from? "Dammit..." Obviously, battl tactics wouldn't work for this situation. Toshiro sheathed his zanpakuto and ran in front of Emiko, taking her wrists in his hands. "Listen to me, miss," he pleaded with her. "You have to calm down, alright? There is nothing here that will harm you. I give you my word on that. So, please, take a deep breath and gather yourself together." Her breathing was still erratic. His words hadn't gotten through to her. Toshiro cursed under his breath and drew his sword once more, turning in the direction Emiko was staring in. '_Whatever's causing her sudden fear is over there, so..._' He swung his sword in that direction, nearly hitting the door. Almost as if on cue, the red wind began to disperse, and faded away. Emiko started calming down, and Toshiro was able to breathe a sigh of relief. "See? Whatever is troubling you is gone." He sheathed his sword and took in what just happened. There was nothing there, and yet...she _saw_ something. Whatever this something was frightened her dearly. It was his job to find out what it was and protect her from it, becaue if it was a Hollow, then she could possibly be possessed. He had to destroy it before it destroyed her.


	4. Turning Inside Out

**So yeah, _Les Miserables_ has be re-named _Hysteria_. Why? I love that song so much; it's one of my favorite Muse songs, and it fits perfectly with the plot of the story. I'll also try to make it darker for those who like that.**

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

_To _,_

_Another one has suddenly appeared. I was hoping I'd never have to see another one come out, but it happened. This one scares me. Not as much as the _ one, though. This one has taken the shape of a little boy, no older than six, and he remains silent._

_...I can't take this anymore. The medicine never works. What the psychiatrist calls "therapy" is just pointless extra work. I hate the countless appointments, being gawked at by people who talk about nonsense, hearing others say I'm crazy..._

_It seems like the only escape is to never wake up..._

_Please, someone...save me._

A sudden chill stopped Emiko go from going any further. Her attention immediately moved around her bedroom, looking for the source of the chilled sensation. She eventually found it: her window was open. Emiko rolled her eyes and huffed; her window always seemed to be open these days. She poked her head out for a second to glance at the outside world. The sun had set hours ago, giving the stars their turn to emit their faint lights onto the world. Emiko stared at them and sighed. She wished she could be like one of those stars: left alone to shine and burn out as she pleased. But, of course, she never had that sort of luck in life. Instead she was trapped in her home, the outside world pretty much a mystery to her.

She sighed heavily. She needed something that would make her feel better, even if it was only by a little. Emiko decided to sneak out of her room and sit on the roof, just to get some fresh air. She opened her window as far as it would go and pushed herself out until she was sitting on the window sill. Looking down, Emiko could see the rose bed below just waiting for her to fall so the thorns could taste her flesh and blood. She shivered and turned her attention to above, pulling herself up onto the roof. She shuddered again when she felt another breeze hit her exposed legs.

Her gaze moved back down to the rose bed. It seemed almost like an illusion, but for a moment it looked as if all the thorns on the roses were pointing up at her. They were calling to her, waiting for the girl to make one mistake and plunge into their waiting grasp. Emiko rose to her feet, still staring at the thorns. She slowly inched nearer to the edge of the rooftop, never removing her gaze from the flowers. Her toes now dangled off the edge of the gutter. Something about the rose thorns had captured her attention. She leaned over slightly, moving closer and closer to the thorns. Her pupils dilated. She wanted those thorns to pierce her skin. Emiko now regretted not letting go when she first climbed out from her window. That could've been her escape from it all. But she had another chance waiting right below her. She just needed to get closer to it...

Emiko felt an abrupt grip on her upper arm. She glanced behind her and saw the white haired boy holding her. "Don't be so reckless," Toshiro told her, "you could have fallen." She'd almost forgotten about him: how he came and went, the way he fought off those strange giant monsters, and everything in between. Emiko backed away from the roof's edge and sat down next to Toshiro, staring at the roses once more. "The last thing I need right now is to see a human walk off a roof to her death." Her gaze fell. So he knew she was contemplating **that**.

He'd already deduced that she was unable to speak. She was obviously different from other humans he'd encountered, even without that fact. She was a distant creature, who preferred to be isolated from the rest of the crowd. And then there was the truth about her being able to see Hollows and shinigami. She had an uncanny ability that others didn't possess, though, to vividly paint whatever she sees and bring it to life for others. But what of the rest? What about her screaming at something that only she can see? What about the way her body contorts and twitches when she sees said entity?

The wind hit their skin, and Emiko froze. A low whimper was all that could be heard by the shinigami captain. "What's the matter?" he asked her. No response was given. "Can you hear me?" He waved his hand in front of her face. The only form of an answer he got was her shaking. Her eyes were locked above them, toward the peak of the roof. Toshiro faced the direction she was staring, finding nothing before them. "What are you seeing? You have to tell me!" Emiko began to push herself away, and raised a hand to point in front of her. He couldn't see it, but she could: the red figment floating before them, chanting its all-too-known words:

"**GIVE ME YOUR HEART AND YOUR SOUL."**

Toshiro drew his zanpakuto and swiped the air space in front of him. "Tell me if I've destroyed it!" he yelled, trying to get through to her. Emiko continued to back up, soon reaching the edge of the roof. Toshiro saw her from his peripheral vision, and all attention was put on her. "No, stay put!" But she was far from hearing him. She pushed herself backwards, seeing the red figment form what appeared to be a hand. It reached for her, drawing nearer by the second. It was centimetres away, almost grazing her cheek. Where was Black? Why wasn't he appearing to protect her from the monster? Tears welled in Emiko's eyes as she let out a scream of bloody murder. With one final push, Emiko was off the roof, falling toward the rose bed below. The young captain suddenly felt a weight hit him. He'd felt this before, when he faced his first arrancar. His eyes darted around in an effort to locate the arrancar, to no avail. In the edge of his sight vision, Toshiro caught sight of her going down and reached his own hand to her. She outstretched her arm to grab him, but pulled back when she saw streams of the forbidden color coating his skin. Emiko stared at the sky, at the white haired boy's distressed expression, at the entity reaching for her. She saw eyes beginning to develop, a contrasting deep navy blue, much like her own. And then all the red, all the blue, all the color from her world faded, leaving her in a shadowy abyss.

The abyss was the closest thing to a sanctuary she'd ever felt. It was quiet, soothing and cool, like laying on a bed of snow in a shaded area out in the country. A small smile crept onto her face, only claiming the corners of her mouth. No mother bothering her, no father to force her into college, no red figment haunting her. All that could be heard was a gently beating monotone resonance. She kept her eyes closed, letting her head and limbs hang as she hovered in the abyss. There was no ground or sky, no up or down, no direction whatsoever. Just a calming beat, almost like listening to one's heart.

But the gentle heartbeat soon became an annoying beeping noise. It persisted, and Emiko was unable to tune it out. The beeping got louder, quickly followed by faint voices all around her. She opened her eyes, only keeping them at a squint. A slit opened her abyss, allowing extremely bright light to enter. She raised her hands to shield her eyes from the light, but her arms felt extremely heavy. The voices grew louder, and she recognized one immediately. "Emiko! Emiko, it's Mom! Can you hear me? Emiko!" The voice ceased for less than a second. "Oh, Iishin, do you think she can hear my voice?"

"I can't say for sure," a man's voice answered, "but the thorns seem to have missed her inner ears. Based on how she fell, there's a slight chance she won't be able to register any sound." Her abyss began to fade, the space around her illuminating. A large lamp hung directly over her, and it added to the effect the other had on her pupils. There were four people surrounding her from above. Emiko identified her mother right away, who was accompained by her father. She hadn't seen him all week, and only heard him when he left for work early in the morning and returned late at night. And then there were the other two. The orange haired boy was staring down at her, appearing just as worried as everyone else. He seemed so familiar; Emiko knew she'd seen him before that week, that day the monster tried to grab her. She searched her memory for answers, and found him to be someone she'd passed by in the hallway at her school. Ichigo Kurosaki was his name. She finally remembered: his father was a doctor and friend of her parents. His father was the last one standing over her, holding a small flashlight in front of her face. "Come on, Emiko," he beckoned. "Follow the light with your eyes." Not knowing what was going on, she did as she was told. Iishin pulled the flashlight away from her face. "She appears to be able to perceive and understand everything just fine."

Emiko pushed herself in a sitting position and felt sheets and a mattress under her. The whole room came into perspective, and was found to be an emergency room. She immediately felt stinging points all over her back, arms and legs, and she let out a pained whimper. "No, don't move," her father said to her. "How did you fall into the rose bush, Em?" She looked down at her arms, which were wrapped thick in bandages. She was glad; she wouldn't have to see any of the forbidden color on her body again. "Emiko." Her father regained her attention. "Come on, say something!" She didn't answer, and he backed away from her, cursing under his breath.

"You already heard what the neighbors said, Sora." Emiko's mother went to comfort her husband. "Shun said he happened to be looking out the window when he heard a scream. He saw Emiko on the roof, and then she started backing away toward the edge and hit the rose bush. That's when he came outside and started banging on the door." She began crying and Sora took her into his arms.

"It'll be alright, Mayu. We'll figure this out." He glanced over to Iishin, who gestured for the parents to follow him out of the room. The three adults filed out to the hallway, leaving Ichigo and Emiko alone.

Ichigo sat on the edge of her bed, folding his hands on top of his lap. "Right after I left your place when we destroyed the Hollow," he started, "I remembered who you were. I knew you could see things others didn't, but I never thought you'd be able to see Hollows and shinigami. How long have you been able to do this?" She turned away from him, but Ichigo grabbed her hand. "This is important, Emiko. Toshiro told me what happened. He said he felt a presence somewhere near where you were sitting. Was it whatever you saw? You've gotta tell me somehow." Emiko's eyes widened, shocked to hear that someone else felt the existence of the haunting figment. Ichigo reached over to the small table nearby, taking a pen and paper and laying them on her lap. She stared at the paper, reminiscing. It reminded her of her writing assignments. At least this paper would only be seen by someone she trusted more than her parents. She took hold of the pen and began to write with Ichigo watching over, going slower than normally because of the throbbing caused by her wounds. Once finished, she handed the paper over to Ichigo, who read it right away.

_I never intended to fall from the roof. I only wanted to escape my room and get some air without having my mother breathing down my neck. Once I was on the roof, the one you call Toshiro found me. He talked to me, and that's when the breeze hit. I saw the same figment as last time. But it was different: it developed a hand and eyes, and it reached for me. I tried to back away from it, but it continued to draw closer. The last thing I remember is falling..._

He put the paper down. "What does this figment look like?" She instantly shook her head and hid her face, shuddering. "Okay, okay, you don't have to right now. But can you at least give me some defining factors about it?" Emiko took the paper from Ichigo and laid it on the bed, writing out one sentence in large capital letters:

_GIVE ME YOUR HEART AND YOUR SOUL._

Before Ichigo could ask anything else, he heard footsteps approaching. He took the paper and pen, hiding them in his pocket. The last thing either of them needed was their parents seeing it and finding them both to be crazier than suspected. Their parents returned, along with two other doctors. Iishin went up to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ichigo, it's time for us to go home." He pulled Ichigo away and the two new doctors moved closer to the blond girl.

"Hello, Emiko," one of the men introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Taiki, and this is my partner, Dr. Rokurou." The one called Taiki extended a hand out to Emiko, but she backed away from him. "We're with the psychiatric ward here at the hospital. Your parents told us about your severe schizophrenia, and called us here to help." Emiko glared at them, then to her parents. Nothing felt right about this setting now that these new doctors were in front of her. And from a side glance, she could see four others advancing toward her with a stretcher. She squinted and saw leather straps on its rails.

Her eyes switched back to her mother, who had what looked like a pained smile on her face. Her father wouldn't even look in her direction. "We love you very much," she said to her daughter, "and we'll visit you every day."


	5. Hell's Preview

Emiko pushed herself in a sitting position and felt sheets and a mattress under her. The whole room came into perspective, and was found to be an emergency room. She immediately felt stinging points all over her back, arms and legs, and she let out a pained whimper. "No, don't move," her father said to her. "How did you fall into the rose bush, Em?" She looked down at her arms, which had been wrapped in thick layers of bandage. She was glad; she wouldn't have to see any of the deathly color on her body again. "Emiko." Her father regained her attention. "Come on, say something! Speak already!" She didn't answer, and he backed away from her, cursing under his breath.

"You already heard what the neighbors said, Sora." Emiko's mother went to comfort her husband. "Shun said he glanced out the window when he heard a scream. He saw Emiko on the roof, and the she started backing toward the edge and fell over. She landed in the rose bush. That's when he ran across the street and started banging on our door to get us." She began crying and Sora took her into his arms.

"It'll be alright, Mayu. We'll figure this out." He glanced over to Iishin, who gestured for the parents to follow him out of the room. "We'll be right back, Emiko."

"Ichigo," Iishin called to his son," stay here with her." He nodded and Iishin vanished behind a wall corner with Emiko's parents. Once they were out of the kids' hearing range, Iishin sighed, gripping his clipboard. "Emiko is very lucky to have gotten away with such minor wounds. The thorns could've done much worse. However, I can't say the same for her _other_ condition."

Mayu tightened her hand around her husband's arm. "I know. Her last few visits to the psychiatrist didn't go well. I even found her screaming on the floor one day." She rested her head on Sora's chest. "I don't know how much more of this we can take. Everything we try to do to help her just backfires." Her eyes began to water again.

"I understand your concern, Mayu," Iishin replied. "That's why I made a call." Sora looked past Iishin and saw two men in lab coats approaching them.

"Iishin, are they..." He nodded. Sora stared at the ceiling and cursed again. "I guess this is our only choice, isn't it?" The men stopped before them and shook hands with the parents.

"I'm Dr. Rokurou," the first man introduced himself, "and this is my colleague, Dr. Taiki. I wish we could be meeting under better circumstances." He pushed up his glasses with his finger. "We contacted Emiko's psychiatrist and had a long conversation. If what you say happened to her is true, then we'll have to take more drastic measures in treating your daughter."

Sora's eyes widened a bit, but he seemed far from surprised. "And...what exactly does that entail?" From behind the two men, four more appeared, pushing a stretcher between themselves.

Dr. Taiki sighed. "I know this is hard for you to hear, but there's no way Emiko is stable enough to function in the outside world. Her mind is far beyond what occasional visits to the local physician can take care of. She must be under twenty four hour surveillance until her condition becomes sane. And judging by what we've been told-"

"Are you saying my daughter is a psychopath?" Sora spat defensively. "We KNOW her mind is unstable! We've known that ever since she tried to burn down our house when she was seven! And if that wasn't a sure enough sign that something was wrong, then her telling me a bunch of ghosts told her to kill Mayu and I had to be it! I understand my daughter is mentally ill, but she's not a psychopath!"

Mayu squeezed his arm again, returning him to reality. "Sora, they never called Emiko a psychopath. They only said her mind was too erratic to function in society." Sora looked down at his wife, and noticed how she bit her lip. "Emiko needs help. Think about it. Everything we've tried has only made things worse. You have to accept that...our daughter is beyond what our parenting can do."

Sora hid his eyes behind his hand. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't want to believe it could only be done here. "Tell me, what kind of care would Emiko receive here? How would it be different from everything we've been through?" He never imagined having to do this to his daughter, his only child.

The stretcher was pulled beside them as Dr. Rokurou flashed a clipboard to the distraught parents. "Your daughter would be absolutely away from harm here. There would always be someone around to watch her and sharp objects will be kept far away from her. You'll be able to visit her every week to check on her progress. She'll receive one-on-one counseling every day and kept on a strict medication schedule. Emiko will be completely taken care of." His arm outstretched, bringing the clipboard closer to them. "All you have to do is sign, and we'll take care of the rest." Mayu and Sora exchanged one glance, the only glance needed, before taking the clipboard and signing it. "Your daughter is in good hands."

The parents returned to Emiko and Ichigo, with the other two doctors following close behind them. Iishin went up to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ichigo, it's time for us to go home." He pulled Ichigo away and the two new doctors moved closer to the blond girl. As he was pulled from the scene, Ichigo saw the girl tense up. He knew something was wrong, very wrong.

"Hang on a second, Dad," Ichigo told his father. "I need to use the bathroom really quickly. I'll meet you in the car." Iishin nodded and went on ahead. Ichigo went to the corner and listened to the conversation taking place at Emiko's bed, poking his head out to observe the scene.

"Hello, Emiko," one of the men introduced himself. "I'm Dr. Taiki, and this is my partner, Dr. Rokurou." The one called Taiki extended a hand out to Emiko, but she backed away from him. "We're with the psychiatric ward here at the hospital. Your parents told us about your severe schizophrenia, and called us here to help." Emiko glared at them, then to her parents. Nothing felt right about this setting now that these new doctors were in front of her. And from a side glance, she could see four others advancing toward her with a stretcher. She squinted and saw leather straps on its rails.

Her eyes switched back to her mother, who had what looked like a pained smile on her face. Her father wouldn't even look in her direction. "We love you very much," she said to her daughter, "and we'll visit you every day." Mayu bit her lip again, fighting back tears. The parents took a few steps away from their daughter as the stretcher pulled up to her. She immediately began screaming. The orderlies operating the stretcher took her by her limbs and placed her on the contraption. They held her down and the straps snaked around her ankles and wrists. Emiko's screams became worse, turning into the roars of a caged animal. Her face was wet with tears and sweat, her hair stuck to her forehead as she struggled against her restraints. Ichigo saw one of the doctors pull out a syringe and vial. He pricked the vial lid and sucked a large amount of the clear liquid into the syringe. Sedative, he concluded it to be. The doctor stuck the needle into Emiko's arm and pumped the liquid into her vein. She struggled for a few minutes more, before finally feeling the effects of the sedative. She could barely move by the time the orderlies wheeled her through a set of double doors, leading to a part of the hospital he'd never explored before. With nothing else he could do, Ichigo turned around and headed to the car, with a weight on his shoulders.

-0-0-0-0-

Everything in the surrounding area was fuzzy. No exact shapes could be made out, only blobs with white outlines. Emiko stood up. She was back in the dark abyss. But how? She looked down at her arm, and noticing a small scab on her vein, she remembered. Her parents had abandoned her, leaving her in the hands of these evil creatures known as doctors. One had shoved a needle into her arm and injected her with something, most likely a sedative. So how was she still able to keep an active mind? It must've been her subconscious, playing games with her again.

"You see why I told you to do those things in the past?"

Emiko froze. Her head slowly turned behind her, her body following, and saw it. Prime. But something was different this time. Prime didn't have her usual expression, a smile with half-lidded eyes, plastered across her face. No, it was far from that; this time, Prime was scowling. Her head was tilted back, and her arms were crossed. "I knew they were going to do this to you, Emiko." Prime took a step toward her. Emiko shivered. Prime never called her by her full name. "I warned you countless times to fight back, to prevent this from happening. But no." Prime reached out and grabbed Emiko by her shirt collar. "Now because you didn't listen to me, we're stuck in this shit hole! Now I won't ever get to see the outside world again! This is all your fault!" A hand forced her face to snap to the left. "I had all the freedom in the world, and you had to ruin it!" She was slapped again. "But you know what? I won't let that ruin my fun." Prime's face contorted, now a mixture of a scowl and a maniacal grin. "No, you're going to pay for what you did to me. You're going to pay dearly. And you wanna know how?" Emiko shook her head and was met with another slap. "Don't interrupt me when I'm speaking!" She giggled. "You wanna know how I'm going to make you pay, dear Emiko?" Prime leaned her head in to Emiko's ear. She whispered, "I'm going to use you to fuck around with the real world." Blue eyes widened and flooded with tears. Emiko's body shook, the only thing it could do in her state of fear. "Oh, and don't go thinking Black will come to save you. He's not around anymore." She saw the look on Emiko's face and laughed. "Oh, you mean you haven't noticed? I'm surprised at you, Emiko. You're usually so on-the-ball about everything. Eh, it must be an effet from the sedative you were give. You see..." She shoved Emiko back and pointed down to the floor. Emiko looked where she pointed and shrieked. Her shadow...it couldn't be...

"I killed him."


End file.
